Red Spring Festival 2014 kicks off

The annual Red Spring Festival 2014 opened in Hanoi on February 16. The festival is estimated to collect at least 7,000 units of blood from 10,000 blood donors.

Students donate blood at the Red Spring Festival 2014 (Photo: SGGP)

The festival 2014 opened with a ceremony themed “Donating Blood, Giving Hopes” at My Dinh National Stadium.

Vice President Nguyen Thi Doan beat the drums for the opening ceremony. Thousands of youth arrived early to register as donors.

The annual festival solves shortages for the blood bank and enhances public awareness on blood donation, said Professor Nguyen Anh Tri, head of the National Institute of Hematology and Blood Transfusion.

The festival also creates a good environment for the youth who are interested in voluntary activities, said Professor Tri.

The festival is estimated to collect at least 7,000 units of blood from 10,000 blood donors. Seven hundred of donors are couples.

Blood donation has produced 8.2 million units of blood ensuring sufficient supply of blood to treat patients for the last two decades, said Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Thi Xuyen.

The number of blood donors increased from 14.5 percent in 1994 to 90.2 percent in 2013.

In HCMC, more than 300 monks, nuns and Buddhist followers attended the blood donation day hosted annually at Vinh Nghiem Pagoda in District 3.

Vinh Nghiem Pagoda organizes 4-5 such events every year attracting thousands of Buddhist clergies and followers.

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